Just an Izzet deck focusing around Ensoul Artifact. This is very much a work in progress, so any advice is welcome!
Creatures
Chief Engineer helps me get out
Juggernaut
and
Scuttling Doom Engine
with such a small mana base. It's also a decent blocker, although in this meta it'll die easily to most removal decks are running.
Daring Thief is a card I'm not totally sure on. I'm mostly running it as a 2-of to test out how useful it is. The basic idea is to tap it by either attacking, using
Springleaf Drum
or by convoking out artifacts using Chief Engineer. Then, when it untaps, you can swap out control of your Ensoul Artifact for a useful enchantment (or enchantment creature) on their side. They get nothing out of the the trade, because Ensoul is still attached to your creature. It can also be used to swap an Ornithopter for something a little more impressive.
Juggernaut
is pretty simple, it's a strong creature, and it's colourless, letting me run a lot of colourless lands without stressing. It's a little weak thanks to its low toughness, but throwing a Ghostfire Blade on it can help a lot.
Ornithopter is great in this deck. With Ensoul Artifact, it can be a 5/5 flier on turn 2, which is a pretty significant threat so early in the game. As well, it's a good combo with
Springleaf Drum
and Chief Engineer. letting you get lots of mana early on.
Phyrexian Revoker can shut down some decks completely, and it's colourless to boot. Even if enemies are packing removal, it's going to force them to play awkwardly if they want their decks to function as intended. It also turns into a decent creature with a Ghostfire Blade, or even Ensoul Artifact if you're lacking other viable targets.
Scuttling Doom Engine
can be a huge pain for the enemy if you get it out early, something you can do fairly often thanks to
Springleaf Drum
and Chief Engineer. Plus, it turns into some really nasty burn if you sacrifice it using
Shrapnel Blast
. 11 damage is hard to argue with.
Triton Shorestalker is just a good early attacker that can chip away at the enemy while you're trying to get the rest of the deck online. Makes for a good convoker, too. I feel like it'd perform much better with a Bident of Thassa, but I'm not sure if I can make room for the bident in this deck. Any advice welcome!
Artifacts
Ghostfire Blade would be a really mediocre card in most decks, but this deck is full of colourless creatures, so it shines. With only a 1 mana equip cost, you can easily move it around to where it's needed most.
Springleaf Drum
helps get creatures out early, and it taps Daring Thief as well. Plus, it's an early target for Ensoul Artifact if you're lacking in Ornithopters or Darksteel Citadels.
Spells
Ensoul Artifact is a terrific card. 5/5 flying creature on turn 2? Easy, just throw it on an Ornithopter. Or if you'd rather something indestructible, throw it on a
Darksteel Citadel
.
Shrapnel Blast
is great for closing out the game with some solid burn. This deck runs a lot of Artifacts, so you're packing a lot of viable targets to cast the spell. Plus, it combos brilliantly with
Scuttling Doom Engine
.
Singing Bell Strike
deals with enemy creatures well, plus you can trade it to the enemy using Daring Thief to score a useful card.
Stubborn Denial performs wonderfully in this deck, because thanks to Ensoul Artifact, the Ferocious trigger is hit as early as turn two. The ability to counter efficiently is very needed, too, because Ensoul Artifact attracts a lot of heat.
